Stretching from Offenbach in the east to Mainz in the west more than 40 crossings of various types exists. Erected through centuries, in an incredible range of forms and technologies and in various combinations for car, rail, pedestrian and water transportation, bridges form a significant part of the built cultural heritage of the landscape. Many of these crossings are symbols of state-of-the-art engineering of the times they were built.

We propose to make these crossings the signifiers of a region in transformation. We cannot predict how cities will adopt as the global urban population doubles up in size in the coming decades when over five billion people are expected to live in some sort of city-landscape.

We believe, the crossings will continue to be the anchors in the transformation of Rhine|Main. Many more crossings will be added over time and which will only reinforce the image of an interconnected region both administratively and culturally.

A city with large neighborhoods inaccessible by convenient public transportation risks not utilizing its full potential.

With the opening of the East River Ferry lines in New York City in 2011, the total real estate for all homes within a mile of its stops have increased with €500 million. Five of the seven stops on the new route are not on Manhattan.

The East River Ferry can serve as a powerful example to how ferry transport, which is not very demanding in its infrastructure investment, can have high impact on the real estate landscape of a city through increasing connectivity between neighborhoods.

With above in mind, for Offenbach, with its particular slow transformation, we are simply proposing the ‘RHINE | MAIN FLUSSFÄHRE’ as a catalyst. Sailing between the sluice gates, stitching together the two banks of the Rein, ferries can only be successful and become natural addition to the daily life in a city where the water already plays an important role.

To verify and develop the future Rhein | Main Flussfähre we propose the summer of 2015 to be the testing phase of the first ferry. This pilot project can help begin the collaboration between residents, city authorities and land stake holders for a better connected Offenbach.

Team:
Selva Gürdoğan, Gregers Tang Thomsen in collaboration with Yelta Köm

Type: Urban Vision
Client: ASRM 2015
Location: Frankfurt, Germany
Status: Completed